A SUSPICIOUS blaze during the night has badly damaged a terraced house next to a social centre in London’s East End run by squatters. The property next to Whitechapel’s Rampart social centre was damaged by flames shooting out of the windows on all three floors

By Mike Brooke

A SUSPICIOUS blaze during the night has badly damaged a terraced house next to a social centre in London’s East End run by squatters.

The property adjoining Whitechapel’s Rampart social centre was damaged as flames shot out of the windows on all three floors.

It was the second suspicious fire at the premises in six months.

The squatters running the centre in Rampart Street have been fighting attempts for 18 months through the courts to get them out.

The three-storey adjacent property caught light at midnight—but no-one was inside at the time.

Up to 40 firefighters from all over East London were brought in to tackle the blaze which caused extensive damage.

Crews in breathing apparatus searched the premises, but found no-one. Fire investigators were later sifting through the damage to trace the cause.